NTSB photo shows damage

Boeing 757's windshield heating suspect

February 14, 2008|By Dianna Cahn Staff Writer

Photographs released by the National Transportation Safety Board show the extent of windshield damage to an American Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in West Palm Beach on Jan. 30.

Flight 1738 was making its way from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia when the Boeing 757's cockpit began filling with smoke and the inner windshield shattered, forcing the emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport.

The crew had to don gas masks and goggles.

Several crew members and one of the flight's 139 passengers were treated for smoke inhalation. The co-pilot was treated for cuts to his hand from the shards of the shattering windshield. But no one was seriously hurt.

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the incident and is especially considering the window heating system, which was determined to be the cause of smoke and sometimes fire in five B-757s since 2004, the safety board said.

Based on these incidents, the NTSB issued safety recommendations in September asking the Federal Aviation Administration to require that the window heating systems for all Boeing 747s, 757s, 767s and 777s be redesigned. The FAA has yet to implement those recommendations.